Police charged a man with kidnapping. The woman has been released from the hospital.
The Enquirer/Keith BieryGolick

In this photo provided by the Blanchester Police Department, an officer walks near a shed owned by Dennis Dunn, who was arrested Wednesday, April 26, 2017, on a charge of kidnapping in Blanchester, Ohio. A woman’s cries for help from Dunn's shed led to her rescue from a pit in the shed, where police in Ohio said she was being held captive. (Blanchester Police Department via AP)(Photo: AP)

BLANCHESTER - In his mind, when Dennis Dunn led his neighbor into a small grave-like pit dug into the ground in his backyard shed, placed a piece of wood on top of the pit and locked the shed, he was doing it to protect her.

To hide this woman from a prostitution ring in the neighborhood he believed wanted to abduct her, according to court documents.

If that sounds like a fantastical and fictional tale that’s because it was.

Police say Dunn, 46, really did kidnap his 31-year-old neighbor and lock her in a hole dug in his shed.

But Dunn was hearing voices in his head and living in another reality, according to court documents filed by his attorney. There was no prostitution ring.

This photo provided by the Clinton County Sheriff's Office shows Dennis Dunn, who was arrested Wednesday, April 26, 2017, on a charge of kidnapping. A woman’s cries for help from Dunn's shed led to her rescue from a pit in the shed, where police in Ohio said she was being held captive. (Clinton County Sheriff's Office via AP)(Photo: AP)

These documents about Dunn’s mental health, obtained by The Enquirer through a public records request, provide the first real glimpse into his version of the harrowing events that left neighbors in disbelief and talking about the movie “The Silence of the Lambs.”

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Jennifer Elliott thought she was going to die in Dunn’s shed – in a pit about 3 ½ feet deep and 2 feet in diameter.

Her mom reported her missing on April 26, 2017 when she came home around midnight and found Elliott’s son sleeping, but couldn’t find Elliott.

Around 4 a.m., her mom heard sounds coming from the shed. Police used a crowbar to break the shed’s lock and found Elliott in the pit crying. Heavy objects had been placed on top of the hole to keep her from getting out.

She appeared to be having a seizure.

A shed stands in a backyard where police say a man with mental health problems kidnapped a neighbor and kept her trapped in a small grave-like pit in the shed Wednesday, April 26, 2017, in Blanchester. Ohio. Police in Blanchester, about 40 miles northeast of Cincinnati, said the owner of the shed, Dennis Dunn, was arrested on Wednesday. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)(Photo: John Minchillo, AP)

About a week after the incident, Elliott testified in court she couldn't remember much other than smoking a cigarette on her front porch and waking up in the shed.

“When he closed the shed door, he said, ‘I love you,’” Elliott said in 2017. "I remember banging on the dirt and screaming.”

He also told her "you're mine now," Elliott testified then.

Defense documents about Dunn's competency to stand trial in Clinton County directly contradict much of Elliott's testimony.

Defense Attorney James Hartke says Elliott got in the hole without being pushed, had her cell phone with her and went along with Dunn's delusions. A medical expert called her behavior bizarre.

That expert, in an attempt to have Dunn ruled incompetent to stand trial, said Elliott was developmentally delayed and easily swayed by leading questions from police and authority figures.

Elliott had previously reported receiving threatening phone calls and texts from Dunn in 2016, but refused to participate in the prosecution of that case. Her mother told reporters last year Dunn had an obsessive crush on Elliott.

Police arrive to a home where they say a man with mental health problems kidnapped a neighbor and kept her trapped in a small grave-like pit in his backyard shed, Wednesday, April 26, 2017, in Blanchester. Ohio. Police in Blanchester, about 40 miles northeast of Cincinnati, said the owner of the shed, Dennis Dunn, was arrested on Wednesday.(Photo: John Minchillo, AP)

Charged with kidnapping, a felony, Dunn pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity last year.

“In the defendant’s reality, nothing wrong was occurring,” a doctor wrote in reviewing a forensic evaluation of Dunn.

When asked about the alleged kidnapping, Dunn responded:

"It's different when someone is fully cooperatable (sic)," according to court documents.

Police search a home where they say a man with mental health problems kidnapped a neighbor and kept her trapped in a small grave-like pit in his backyard shed Wednesday, April 26, 2017, in Blanchester. Ohio. Police in Blanchester, about 40 miles northeast of Cincinnati, said the owner of the shed, Dennis Dunn, was arrested on Wednesday.(Photo: John Minchillo, AP)

Prosecutors say the fact Dunn didn't call police in fear for Elliott's safety means he understood what he was doing was wrong. His attorney argues he didn't call police because they hadn't helped him with his delusions in the past and, in his reality, he was helping Elliott.

Dunn has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a mental health condition characterized by hallucinations and delusions. He brought police to his house before.

He called 911 several times in the month leading up to this incident, including four times in one day, saying there were intruders in his home.

Police never found anything.

At the time, his kidnapping arrest left the Blanchester police chief shaking his head and laughing because he couldn't think of anything else to do. Dunn had been taken to the hospital after one incident where neighbors called 911 because he was in his front yard with a pistol.

Two days later, out of the hospital, Dunn was back home calling police again, saying someone was pounding on the windows of his home. Police, again, didn't find anything.

In April, a judge found Dunn competent to stand trial, ruling defense counsel and their expert witness had confused competency with an insanity defense, something that could still be raised at trial.

Dunn's attorney is appealing that decision, which could take months.

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Today, Dunn’s front door is covered in cobwebs.

A shed stands in a backyard where police say a man with mental health problems kidnapped a neighbor and kept her trapped in a small grave-like pit in the shed Wednesday, April 26, 2017, in Blanchester. Ohio. Police in Blanchester, about 40 miles northeast of Cincinnati, said the owner of the shed, Dennis Dunn, was arrested on Wednesday.(Photo: John Minchillo, AP)

He’s been in jail for more than a year, and his attorney says he should be in a psychiatric hospital because he is still suffering from the same delusions that troubled him during the incident.

Dunn's shed is still standing, directly across from the home where Jennifer Elliott lives with her mom and son.

Several "no trespassing" signs are posted on the fence surrounding their house. This week, a small white note was taped to the front door: